Behold the BANE

Ow.

So that thing. That thing there. Is ruining my life.

I’m only half-joking. As for what’s wrong with it and why it’s wreaking revenge upon me, I honestly do not know. Neither do my doctors – yet. All I know is I’m in pain the entire month, and bleeding so much I’m anemic.

I expect this to be remedied in time, or so help me, I’m moving to Canada.

Share the Wealth

Why, you might ask, am I mentioning my misbehaving uterus? Because I know I’m not alone, and others need to know that, too.

If you are in genuine pain or discomfort and those around you refuse to believe you on any kind of you’re such a drama queen grounds, you are being abused.

I was raised in the public eye believing I must hide any weaknesses, pretending immunity to normal ailments. Yes, I am aware this is insanely unhealthy. (The stress-ulcers healed, by the way. I feel much better now.)

Communicating with others made a difference. I found out we can give each other advice. I learned we can know we’re not crazy because other people feel these things, too.

That last part is important, at least if you’ve ever been on the end of the “you’re just making that up” stick.

Again: if you are in genuine pain or discomfort and those around you refuse to believe you on any kind of you’re such a drama queen grounds, you are being abused. Do not accept a lesser term. Do not recoil. You will not heal until you see it for what it is.

This Will Be Fun Interesting

I won’t ramble much further. Suffice it to say I’m done with pretending to be fine when I’m not. It took me 36 years to learn that lesson. If you’re reading this, I hope you’re a better student than I.

To all who suffer from insubordinate organs: I salute you. We shall march toward wellness together.

http://marlenedotterer.wordpress.com Marlene Dotterer Brava, Ruthanne. You are so right about this. I’m glad you’re being persistent about getting help. I hope they figure something that will help, but in the mean time, it’s so important for the people around you to acknowledge that there’s something wrong. I know you’ve probably tried everything already, but let me say that acupuncture is worth a try. It’s done wonders for my feet.

Ruthanne Thanks, Marlene! I know they’ll eventually figure something out – and I am absolutely willing to try acupuncture! I may just do that. Seattle’s a good area for such things, I think. I just realized I’d been faking being well for years because of the terrible things people around me said, and I hope anyone who reads this and might suffer the same way will have their eyes opened a little.

Gabrielle Oh, I’m there with you. I had to go through twelve years of “it’s all in your head” and sometimes open ridicule and scorn from medical professionals before I found a doctor willing to open me up and actually see if there was a cause for the mystery pain I kept insisting I had. Turns out, there were adhesions (which don’t show up on tests or scans) bridging my organs – specifically, attaching my ovary to my intestine – and every time I tried to digest something, the shift of my intestine would pull on my ovary, and HURT. Once it was found, it could be managed. When that pain comes back, every 5-10 years, I know it’s time for surgery again. Don’t blame your uterus. She’s probably not enjoying this either. If she could tell you what’s going on, she would. But, keep hope and keep trying. There is a cause to the pain, and there is a doctor out there who will find it.